Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Hanoi Hilton
Sunday night I had the pleasure of attending a concert at the Hilton Hanoi, right next to the opera house. The concert was to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the normalization of relations between Viet Nam and the USA. It was a great event, with musicians from the Vietnam opera company, the ballet, and traditional musicians all attending. Several well known singers in Ha Noi gave their rough n' ready renditions of classics such as Beautiful Dreamer and O Susanna. The most moving performances came as a group of blind musicians took the stage. They all play traditional Vietnamese instruments and knocked out some American tunes such as Swanee River and Amazing Grace with amazing aplomb. The event was attended by a standing room only crowd of mostly Vietnamese people who enjoyed every minute.
The US consul closed the evening by thanking everyone who came and giving the musicians bouquets of flowers. I left the Hanoi Hilton to the sound of Vietnamese musicians playing live jazz in the bar across the lobby.
The US consul closed the evening by thanking everyone who came and giving the musicians bouquets of flowers. I left the Hanoi Hilton to the sound of Vietnamese musicians playing live jazz in the bar across the lobby.
